Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian over alleged car-ramming attack

Israeli military forces gather at the site of an alleged car-ramming attack near Gush Etzion settlement, south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank on April 19, 2017. (Photo by Shms news agency)

Israeli military forces have fatally shot a Palestinian man in the southern part of the occupied West Bank following an alleged car-ramming attack near a settlement.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the incident took place at a junction near Gush Etzion settlement south of Bethlehem on Wednesday afternoon, when a Palestinian driving a private car purportedly hit a bus stop. A 60-year-old pedestrian was lightly injured as a result.

Israeli troops in the area then opened fire at the driver, striking him in the head.

An unnamed spokesperson for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem al-Quds said the Palestinian was brought to the hospital in a critical condition. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving to the hospital.

On April 6, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a young Palestinian following an alleged car-ramming attack against the regime’s forces in West Bank.

The victim, identified as 21-year-old Ahmed Hamed, was fatally shot outside the Israeli Ofra settlement north of Ramallah.

Israeli military sources claimed the regime’s troops opened fire when the Palestinian rammed his vehicle into a group of soldiers, killing one of them and injuring another.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of October 2015.

The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population. Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is also holy to Jews. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.